Aveline's Dark Destiny
by ShadeOfTyranny
Summary: The story of a girl who grew into her role as a trainer, a girl who became a beacon for those without light. The story of a girl who went on a journey to find herself, and found ambition from her Pokemon. The story of a girl from Laverre Town in the region of Kalos.


Shiftry – Quirky – Female – Eva

Houndoom – Serious – Female – Marissa

Umbreon – Docile – Male – Adalric

Sableye – Bashful – Male – Charon

Hydreigon – Careful – Female – Medina

Zoroark – Quiet – Female – Valentia

Kalos Region

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 _A blast of darkness met a gout of water, both attacks cancelling each other out. In the resulting spray of water, a wooden figure darted forward and slashed at the opponent, and the other fighter went down._

Aveline's first Pokémon was a Seedot, and she was never meant to battle.

In an attempt to soothe her childish pride, her parents had decided to get her a companion Pokémon when she was young. With their family living in Laverre City, finding trees for the Seedot to feed from wasn't a major issue, and her parents felt it would teach her responsibility.

It did. She immediately decided to name the Seedot, but unlike most young children, made sure not to give it a "kiddy" name.

She brought this up to her parents, and when they amusedly asked why not, she responded in her most serious tone.

"If she's gonna be my partner, she needs to be my equal. That means a real name."

And so Eva the Seedot became partners with her, and they spent the next few years becoming the best of friends. Eva was a little quirky, but was very in sync with Aveline. What one wanted, the other was perfectly happy with, and Aveline was even content to sit around while Eva hung from a tree and gathered nutrients, picking her up when the Seedot was done.

At the age of ten, both Aveline and Eva became interested in Pokémon battling, but they waited. Neither of them felt ready, and Aveline didn't want to disappoint her parents by leaving. So they waited, and for two years they put the idea out of their minds.

 _With flaming teeth, a large hellhound leapt towards a metallic opponent, biting deep and sending it defeated to the floor._

Aveline's next Pokémon was a Houndour, and she was the one who pushed Aveline to become a Pokémon battler.

While Laverre City wasn't a popular place for tourists, it got a respectable amount of traffic due to the gym. So, like any place with traveling trainers passing through, there were negative repercussions.

She found the Houndour just inside of the forest, curled up and whimpering as it slept outside. The Pokémon didn't react when Aveline lifted it up into her arms and carried the Dark Pokémon home.

Her parents weren't happy, but helped her bring it to the Pokémon Center to get it healed. When their daughter insisted that the Houndour was going to stay with them, they resisted, but eventually gave in. One Pokémon hadn't hurt, so a second shouldn't be too bad for Aveline.

Had they known what would result, they probably would have fought harder against the decision.

Marissa, as Aveline quickly named her, was a battler. Aveline was pretty sure that Marissa's trainer had abandoned her in the forest and left, but there was no way to figure out (unless Aveline started being able to understand Marissa, but that was something only Psychics, Psychic Pokémon and Pokémon with Aura could do).

Instead, Aveline learned about Marissa through her actions. At first, Marissa constantly 'fought' Eva, although Aveline broke those up whenever she noticed them (and she noticed that Marissa never used her fire, which Eva was vulnerable to as a Grass-type). Once Marissa had been with them for months, however, she instead instigated fights with any other Pokémon she met, and often tried to bring Eva in to fight with her. The Seedot often tried to stay out or even stop Marissa so as to keep the Houndour out of trouble, but it was rarely effective.

Because of all of this, it wasn't hard for Aveline to realize that Marissa, despite her (possible) abandonment by a previous trainer, was a battler through and through. And both Aveline and Eva still retained their interest in battling from earlier.

Aveline knew it wasn't the right time, though. She didn't have the ability to live on her own yet, and she knew that life as a traveling battler was dangerous.

So she made sure Marissa understood that they _would_ leave at some point, and they waited.

And when Aveline turned 16, with money stored up from working as many jobs as she could as often as she could, she ran away from home.

 _With golden marks glowing through sable fur, a lithe black form danced around a metallic blade and slammed it to the ground. In a display of almost unnatural grace, the midnight Pokémon finished off the opponent._

Aveline's third Pokémon was an Eevee, and he was what drove her to become a Dark Pokémon trainer.

She had gone from Laverre to Lumiose, but didn't stop long in the big city; from there she traveled to Camphrier Town, with a plan to go around and challenge all of the gyms in the west before returning anywhere near her hometown. The less time near home, she reasoned, meant less opportunity for her parents to find her. They knew she had left on a Pokémon journey, so at least they weren't as likely to put out a missing child alert… She hoped.

Regardless, full of hope, Aveline had made her way to Camphrier Town and spent a night there. On the way, she had battled three trainers. Two of them had looked similar to her – young, new, somewhat nervous– and so when she beat them, she didn't take any spoils money. She knew they were likely in similar situations to her, and Aveline didn't want to make anyone else's journey more difficult.

The third opponent, however, was a jackpot for the teen. Well-dressed, wearing expensive rings, and kitted with various items that looked rather unnecessary, it was more than obvious that this trainer wasn't wanting for any necessities.

Aveline was. So when Eva and Marissa – mostly Marissa, although Eva was quickly catching up to the Houndour's skill level – knocked out the guy's team of four Pokémon, Aveline felt no guilt at taking the maximum amount that she could get away with. He could obviously afford it, and he had been a bit of a jerk anyway.

Plus, Eva evolved into a Nuzleaf right after that battle, so Aveline was even happier.

Happy with her luck – and able to support both herself and more importantly, her team – Aveline took the opportunity to spend a night in the Pokémon Center and make sure Marissa and Eva were well-fed and pampered.

It was only a night, however, and the next day the team was back on the road. On the way, though, they had an unexpected encounter.

A Pokémon came out of the tall grass where it had been hiding, but unlike the many before it, the Eevee didn't immediately attack.

Despite how many towns, cities, and roads that human had created, wild Pokémon still thrived everywhere that humans weren't – and even places where they were. On the routes between towns and cities, however, Pokémon were unhappy with any humans that traveled through. In sufficient numbers, most wild Pokémon would simply avoid them. But when it was only a small group of trainers, or a single trainer, the wildlife would come out in force, and what felt like almost every third step could end up in an encounter.

For a wild Pokémon to confront a trainer but not attack wasn't unheard of, but was certainly unusual. Even more unusual, Aveline knew, was to see an Eevee here. They were rarely found on Route 10 – known as Menhir Trail by Kalos locals – between Cyllage and Geosenge, but that was hypothesized to be due to the odd stones that populated that route. Otherwise, Eevee's were a rare species, and most Eevees that spent time with humans were a result of breeding programs. Wild Eevee populations tended to live deep in the wilds, far away from where humans could reach without great effort.

This Eevee was simply quietly walking out towards Aveline. Eva and Marissa took up defensive positions in front of their trainer, but she shocked them by walking past them to the Eevee.

Kneeling down in front of the Pokémon, she looked into its eyes once the Eevee raised its head. For a long moment, they stared at each other. Silently, Aveline took out a Pokéball and held it in front of her.

Looking away in what seemed a display of shyness, the Eevee touched a paw to the button, and joined Aveline's team. She named him Adalric.

The next day, just before they reached Cyllage City in the dead of night, he evolved into an Umbreon. Aveline didn't question how quickly it occurred.

Instead, she realized that all three of her Pokémon were Dark-types. And that she very much enjoyed that fact.

Which gave her the spark of an idea that later became the core of her reason for battling.

 _The crystalline figure crouched low to the ground, ducking and weaving between blasts of fire. With each miss, the Pokémon moved closer to the creator of the flames, until suddenly it was too close, and a slash of sharp claws ended the battle there and then._

Aveline's fourth Pokémon was a Sableye, and she caught it after she'd beaten her first gym.

The fight against Grant had gone rather well; with Eva as the main battler due to type advantage, and both Marissa and Adalric holding their own, Aveline's first and only visit to the Cyllage Gym ended with a badge in her hand.

Traveling north from Cyllage, the whole team enjoyed the walk on Menhir Trail, Adalric seeming to take special enjoyment as they passed the iconic pillars of stone that jutted out of the ground. They passed through Geosenge without much fanfare, and soon found themselves going into Reflection Cave.

Since they had left Cyllage, none of their encounters with wild Pokémon had been very difficult or eventful. Once inside Reflection Cave, however, Aveline's group was suddenly being attacked more often than they had ever experienced. Solosis, Chingling, Mr. Mime, Roggenrola, Woobat – it was relentless, and Aveline's team was quickly tiring as their trainer tried frantically to both help them fight and find a way out of the cave.

Halfway through, something changed. The encounters slowed, and then slowed again until they were encountering Pokémon almost _less_ often than they would outside on regular routes.

Aveline found it odd – as did her team, if their worried expressions were any indication – but she wasn't about to look a gift Ponyta in the mouth.

Or, she corrected herself as she stopped in surprise, maybe she would, but a Sableye in place of a Ponyta.

For that was exactly the Pokémon that was standing slackjawed in front of her, head turned towards her and away from the three wild Pokémon scrambling in the opposite direction of it.

Her team all reacted differently to the gem Pokémon. Adalric, the loyal Umbreon that he was, immediately looked to her for orders. Marissa and Eva were more proactive, Marissa placing herself between Aveline and the Sableye while Eva's leaf began to glow subtly, indicating a prepared attack – a Razor Leaf, Aveline could tell.

The Sableye didn't react aggressively at all.

Instead, its jaw clicked shut and it skittered around a corner, peering out only seconds later with a single gem eye.

Aveline raised an eyebrow.

"Have you been protecting us?"

Slowly, the crystalline Pokémon moved out from behind the corner.

"Would you like to join us?"

With stuttering steps, the Sableye made its way over to Aveline. Marissa and Eva went to react, but Adalric growled at them. Taken aback, both of them backed down, especially when they turned and saw Aveline's calm expression.

The Sableye kneeled in front of the teenager and slowly nodded, looking up at Aveline.

As she had before, the girl took out a Pokéball and held it in front of the Pokémon. And just as Adalric had before, the Sableye reached out and tapped the button.

Later, in Shalour, Aveline found out that the Sableye was male.

She asked if he would like to be called Charon, and he shyly hid his face and nodded.

After a few days of training, Aveline challenged the gym. And against Korrina's team of Fighting-type Pokémon, Charon was untouchable, and he almost single-handedly won the match for his new trainer. When she praised him for it afterwards, he covered his eyes in embarrassment but grinned.

 _Dragon fire filled the arena, bathing both combatants in the ghastly flames. The dark dragon suddenly burst out of the conflagration, firing three streams of energy from all three heads. The other dragon went down._

Aveline's fifth Pokémon was a Zweilous, and it was the turning point that set her path.

The next few gyms were eventful for Aveline.

In Coumarine City, Marissa dominated the battle. Between her type advantage and a mid-battle evolution, the Houndoom almost single-handedly won for Aveline, with Adalric subbing in for the last opponent.

From Coumarine, the team had a rather uneventful trip back to Lumiose. This time through, Aveline and her team were ready to battle the gym. On the way, though, Eva noticed a store selling evolution stones and nagged Aveline to enter. Once inside, she insisted on her trainer buying a Leaf Stone, and the moment Aveline got it, Eva snagged it and glowed with the energy of evolution.

And so when they challenged Clemont, Eva fought as a Shiftry.

Unlike many of the previous gyms, none of Aveline's team had any specific advantages against Electric Pokémon. Despite this, her Pokémon proved their skills, and they left with another gym badge.

Aveline decided to go south from Lumiose, with the Santalune Gym as the goal. Even this far into her journey… she wanted to put off a confrontation as long as possible.

If it came earlier than she wanted, she'd deal with it. But the longer she could put it off, the better.

The team decided to relax for a short time in Santalune, and put off the gym battle for a few days. In this time, they occasionally venture out into the surrounding routes to relax or train.

East of Santalune, they run into a Pokémon out of place.

Even from a distance, they could tell what the Pokémon was. The Zweilous was rather large, and despite the occasional snapping at each other, the two heads seemed in agreement about attacking the wildlife around them.

When she saw it, Aveline made a decision about something that had been sitting in her mind for some time.

 _I will be a Dark Pokémon trainer. And I will show people why these Pokémon have become my friends, why the darkness of night has become a comfort._

Zweilous were dangerous Pokémon, but with her team, Aveline found it to be a much easier task than expected. Tossing an Ultra Ball to catch it, the small _click_ signified the new addition to her team.

When she next let out the dragon, both heads gave her assessing stares. Aveline had asked at the Pokémon center, and they had let her know that the Pokémon was female. However, surprisingly for a female Zweilous, the dark dragon wasn't going into a rage immediately. Instead, it was watching and waiting.

Interesting… and as Aveline slowly realized, perhaps why the Zweilous wasn't up at Victory Road like the majority of the other Pokemon in its tribe. After all, Zweilous and their evolution line were naturally aggressive.

Over the next week, Aveline completely ignored the gym challenge, and spent her time slowly getting to know her new team member. By the end of the week, the Zweilous was content with her new owner, and the dragon's careful nature resulted in minimal fighting between its two heads.

Medina gained a new name, and aided Marissa in obtaining the Santalune Gym badge for their team.

 _The dragon roared, sending attacks in every direction. None connected, only disrupting various illusions. Without warning, a sleek dark furred figure appeared behind the dragon, slashing cruelly and ending the battle in one fell swipe._

Aveline's final Pokémon was Zoroark, and it was the most unusual catch of them all.

After defeating the Santalune Gym, Aveline and her team immediately went east in order to face Wulfric, the Gym Leader of Snowbelle City.

Unlike previous Gym battles, type advantage was only a minor advantage in this battle, and Aveline's team was hard pressed to overcome Wulfric's team. Medina, the newest addition to the team, had a minor role in the battle due to her weakness to ice.

After a long and difficult battle, however, she won. Before Wulfric handed over the badge, however, he gave her a long look and asked a question.

"What do you plan to do? Challenging all the gyms is no easy feat, and I doubt you don't have a plan."

She paused for a moment, thinking. Then she smirked and gave her response.

"I intend to become the best Dark trainer in Kalos. Whether I become a Gym leader or a member of the Elite Four, I will become the banner for others to gather under." She wasn't sure what she expected, but Wulfric's reaction was a surprise nonetheless.

He simply grinned and dropped his badge into her open hand. "Then I shall wish you the best of luck. Your team is strong, but you must match their strength if you wish to achieve your goal."

With his words echoing in her head, Aveline and her team left for Couriway the very next day. With the strength they had gained through their travels, the journeys on the routes between cities no longer held any danger or risk for her team. Instead, simply keeping her team out of their Pokéballs (which she tended to do regularly anyway, outside of cities) was enough to leave Aveline and her companions without many encounters at all.

Of course, had they ventured far off of the well-traveled routes, their travels would not be nearly as simple, but Aveline's team had no reason to do so, just as most travelers didn't unless they meant to train rigorously against the stronger Pokémon in the wild.

So Aveline's team quickly arrived at and passed through Coriway, traveling through the rather short Route 18 in order to then arrive at Anistar City.

There, they challenged the Psychic-type Gym Leader, Olympia. Despite the skill of her team, the massive type disadvantage of a team of Psychic Pokémon versus a team of Pokémon immune to any Psychic activity made the battle one of the easiest Gym battles out of Aveline's journey. Medina even evolved during the battle, finally becoming a Hydreigon.

The leader, despite the somewhat unfair battle, held no hard feelings, and was more than happy to hand over her badge.

Walking out of the gym, Aveline stumbled to a halt when a random stranger walked in front of her.

"Excuse me, is there something I can…?" She started to question, only to trail off as the person started to shift forms in front of her.

In a matter of seconds, it was not a random person standing in front of her, but instead a tall, dark furred Pokémon. A Zoroark, to be exact, although Aveline only knew of the rare Pokémon due to her recent studies into Dark Pokémon.

Caught off-guard, Aveline barely reacted when the Pokémon reached around her and dug something out of her backpack. As she shook off the surprise, Aveline found a Pokéball being placed in her open hand.

"What…?" And then the Zoroark looked at her, smiled, and tapped the button on the sphere.

That was how she caught her last Pokémon. Later that day, after 'discussing' it with the Pokémon (she suggested names, and her newly acquired team member either approved or disapproved), the Zoroark gained the name "Valentia".

Despite initial suspicion due to the way Valentia joined the team, the Zoroark quickly gained the trust of her teammates, and the team went on their way to Laverre Town, the location of the last gym...

And where her parents no doubt still were.

 _The girl slowly walks down the hall, large ornate doors looming over her. She stopped just in front of them, taking a deep breath. Slowly letting it out, she reached forward with both hands and split apart the doors to the Champion._

At long last, after traveling the long route from Anistar and through Dendemille, she returned to her hometown. It felt like it had both been the longest of times, and like it had been only days since she had been home.

She couldn't bring herself to go and meet her parents, so she stayed in a small local inn. She could tell immediately that the owners recognized her, but thankfully, they said nothing to her. That didn't meant they wouldn't tell her parents, but… She hoped to have fought the gym by then. To have proven herself.

But it wasn't going to be an easy fight.

Valerie was the Fairy Gym Leader, and now that Aveline had all seven other badges, the gym leader was not going to hold back at all. In a reversal of her fight against Olympia, this time Aveline was the one with a major type disadvantage. Dark Pokémon were weak against Fairies, and so this gym battle would likely be the hardest they had ever faced.

And it was. All of her Pokémon were forced to ignore their Dark attacks, and focus on their secondary abilities. Eva used her leaves and other Grass attacks to harass and drain her opponents, Marissa used flame to corral and burn the Pokémon she faced. Adalric used his natural defense to tank attacks, taking advantage of it to create openings within his foe's defenses, while Charon deflected attacks as he danced around the field and wore down his opponents. Medina was at the greatest disadvantage, neither Dark nor Dragon attacks working. Instead, brute force and the occasional blast of fire were all she could use to battle; despite her disadvantages, however, the Hydreigon was a fierce combatant. And Valentia… she used her illusions, constantly leading her opponents around the field and tricking them into wasting their energy while she battered them with a large variety of attacks.

It was a close match, and by the end, only Eva remained conscious, the rest of Aveline's team fainted from battle. But they did it.

They had earned their final badge.

And then Aveline walked out of the gym to see the faces of her parents waiting for her.

 _The lift to the champion was slow. The girl crossed her arms as it rose, impatient and ready to face the last challenge in her path. For her, it was almost tortuous to wait so long for something that was so close._

 _At long last, the platform reached its destination, and the girl took her first steps towards the Champion._

 _The final battle was about to begin._

Her parents were not happy with her, but Aveline refused to simply give in and allow them to dictate her life.

Their argument went on all night. Aveline understood their reasoning: she was still young, traveling was dangerous, and she had not kept in contact with them, so they had no idea whether she was safe – or even _alive_ – for the whole time she was gone.

But she had counters for every point they made. Despite her youth and the danger, she had survived and prospered. Aveline had a full team, a strong team that had brought her to a point where she had all eight badges. With her team behind her, she had the strength to protect herself and even help people.

And eventually, her parents… well, didn't _accept_ it, but put up with it.

Not without a lot of fussing, but they allowed her to continue to make her own decisions. Her next goal, however, was a surprise to them.

"Become a member of the Elite Four?" Her mother repeated with a frown.

"Why, exactly? Besides the prestige," her father questioned. Aveline simply smirked in response.

"Dark Pokémon aren't exactly well looked upon," she commented. "So if I, as a Dark Trainer, become a member of the Elite Four… or even _Champion_ ," she added with a wistful tone to her voice, "then I can improve their image. Make Dark Pokémon viewed with pride across Kalos, instead of scorn."

The two adults looked at each other, confusion obvious on their faces. But when they turned back to Aveline, the confusion fell away to show pride.

"If anyone can do it, you can," her father stated with absolute confidence.

"It might not be what we wanted for you," her mother began hesitantly, "but it's an honorable goal." The woman finished with a smile.

Aveline smiled at her parents, and for the first time since she'd left, hugged them.

 _Her Pokémon, tired but standing proud, arranged themselves behind her as she stared down the defeated Champion._

" _I… I did it," the girl said quietly. Then louder, with an almost disbelieving excitement coloring her voice, she said, "I beat the Champion!"_

 _The Champion looked up and smiled at her. "Congratulations," the woman told her opponent. "At least I know I'm leaving my position in good hands," she laughed._

 _Grinning with pride and glee, the girl still reached a hand down to help the Champion up from her position kneeling on the floor._

 _The Champion accepted the gesture, standing up besides the girl who had bested her and her team. With a raised arm, she gestured towards a gilded door in the back of the room._

" _Shall we go make this official?"_

 _The girl raised a hand up to her heart, and then curled it into a triumphant fist._

" _Let's."_

 _Hand in hand, Aveline and Diana walked into the Hall of Fame._

 _To register Aveline as the new Champion of the Kalos League._


End file.
